Lea County in prairie chicken lawsuit

LOVINGTON &GT;&GT; Commissioners in a southeastern New Mexico county have voted to officially join a lawsuit to fight the listing of the lesser prairie chicken as a threatened species.

The Hobbs News-Sun reports (http://goo.gl/t5mRgc) that Lea County Commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to add the county's name to a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife.

Earlier this month, Lea County was listed in a joint complaint, filed in a federal court in Texas, that includes the Permian Basin Petroleum Association and four other New Mexico counties.

Ranchers and oil companies believe the listing will have a negative effect on the ranching, oil and gas industries in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado. That's where the chicken's habitat is known.

In March, the Obama administration listed the prairie chicken as threatened.